Pedal actuated drum sticks



March 12, 1957 c, DELLA-PORTA 2,784,634

PEDAL ACTUATED DRUM STICKS Filed Aug. 30, 1954 415597 Cl/ll/fll'fifZLA-PORTA \NVENTOR- M0031, 0M M M mamas.

United States Patent PEDAL ACTUATED DRUM STICKS Albert ClaudeDella-Porta, South Wigston, England Application August 30, 1954, SerialNo. 453,010

' Claims. (Cl. 84-422) This invention relates to foot pedal actuateddrum sticks. The present form of foot pedal actuated drum :stick usuallycomprises a bracket carrying a crank to which is attached one end of thedrum stick, the crank having connected between its free end and the endof the pedal remote from its fulcrum, a link so that the depression ofthe inclined pedal pulls downward the crank and throws the free end ofthe drum stick forwardly against the drum.

It is found with this type of device, as the link and crank movedownwardly and the angle between them increases, before the maximumdesired depression of the pedal is effected, the angle between the linkand crank in approaching towards the dead centre position tends toarrest or retard the movement of the pedal and consequently preventssmooth continuity and sensitive control of the beats of the drum stickand frequently produces a lag in the return of the drum stick,particularly when producing soft notes. The object of the presentinvention is to obviate these disadvantages.

According to the present invention a foot pedal operated drum stick ischaracterised in that a linkage connection for transmitting movementfrom the pedal to an oscillatable member carrying the drum stickincludes a linkage element pivoted at one point to the oscillatablemember and a linkage element connected to the pedal said two elementsbeing pivotally connected together to provide an elbow joint beneath thepoint of pivotal connection of the first linkage element to the saidoscillatable member, and buffer means between the linkage and theoscillatable element to cushion the completion of the return of the drumstick to its normal position.

Further in accordance with the present invention, instead, as at presentadopted, of connecting the upper end of the said link directly to thefree end of a crank carrying the drum stick, there is interposed betweenthe crank and the said upper end of the link an auxiliary link whichnormally lies as an abutment across the free end of the crank. Thus theeffect is to obtain an elbow action with the linkage connection betweenthe pedal and the crank.

Still further, in accordance with the present invention, a pedalactuated drum stick comprises a pedal having a fulcrum near one end andinclined upwardly and forwardly from such end and having connectedbetween its other end and a crank articulated at a position above suchlatter end a linkage including a joint with the section of the linkageabove said joint having between it and the crank a buffer adapted tocushion the engagement of said section of the linkage with the crankupon the completion of the return of the drum stick to a normalposition, the drum stick being carried by the crank and having its headnormally disposed above and in rear of the vertical plane intersectingthe axis of articulation of the crank.

In order that the present invention may be clearly understood andreadily carried into effect, a drawing is appended herewith illustratingan embodiment thereof 2,784,634 Patented Mar. 12, 1957 ice and showingin full lines the normal position of the pedal actuated drum stick, andin broken lines the beat position of the drum stick.

Referring to the drawings the drum stick comprises the usual head 1 andstick portion 2, the latter being fixedly secured by any suitable meansto a crank 3 pivoted by a pin 4 passed through the inner end of thecrank and the upper end of a post or bracket 5 which can be an integralpart of an aluminium or other suitable moulding incorporating a baseplate 6.

The crank 3 can be bifurcated so that the limbs thereof lie oppositesides of the upper end of the vertical bracket 5 or it may be providedwith a boss in common with a boss on the upper end of the bracket toafford adequate support for the pivot pin 4, the means of supporting thecrank 3, if desired, following the existing practice.

The crank 3 is, as shown, preferably of segmental form so that its outerend is wider between the upper and lower edges of the crank than itsinner endand is radiused to afford an arcuate face 6 for most of itsarea, this face 6 joining a forwardly directed lug 7 integral with thecrank to receive the pivot pin 8 of an auxiliary link 9 bowedconcentrically with the arcuate face 6 and normally abutting against arubber or other suitable butter 10, preferably fixed to the arcuate face6 of the crank, although if preferred this buffer may be carried by theauxiliary link 9.

The food pedal 11 is supported in the usual manner by a lug 12 on thebase plate 6 which receives the pivot pin 13 comprising the pedalfulcrum adjacent to rear end of the foot pedal, the foot pedal normallyinclining upwardly away from its fulcrum and receiving pivotally by apin 14 passed through a lug or fork 15 at the lower end of a link 16,the upper end of which is pivoted to the lower end of the auxiliary link9 by a pivot pin 17.

The pivot pins 14 and 17 can comprise simple cranked ends of the link16.

It will be seen that normally the head 1 of the drum stick lies in rearof the vertical plane containing the axis of the pivot pin 4 of thecrank 3 and the dimensions of the links 9 and 16 are such that thisnormal positioning of the drum stick head brings the crank 3 above thehorizontal plane with the auxiliary link 9 abutting firmly against thebuffer 10. However, if desired, a spring may be provided with the pedal11 or crank 3 to produce a positive return of the drum stick to thenormal position.

Further it will be seen that the provision of the auxiliary link 9provides a smooth elbow action across the pedal 11 and crank 3. Thisaction continues up to a position as shown in broken lines where the twolinks are in substantial co-planar relationship, whereas in the presentused devices, where the link 16 is pivotally connected to the crank 3,it is found as the angle between the crank and the link 16 increasesthere is a tendency for the pedal to become locked as it approaches itslowest position, and also for a certain amount of sluggishness or lag tobe produced in the action of the appliance which detracts from thesensitive control of the beats of the drum stick.

I claim:

1. A foot pedal actuated drum stick comprising a base member adapted tobe placed on the floor in front of the drum, a foot pedal extendinglengthwise above said base member,.a bracket upstanding from said basemember near the front end of said base member, means pivotallyconnecting the foot pedal at its rear part to the rear part of the basemember, whilst the front end of the foot pedal is close to said bracketbetween the base member and the top of said bracket, a crank pivoted tothe top of said bracket, means to secure a drum stick to said crank,twolinks connecting the front end of the pedal to said crank andconsisting of an upper one which is pivoted at its top 3 s end to thecrank with one 'face opposed to the free end of said crank, a resilientbufier between said face and the free end of the crank beneath thepivoted connection of said upper link to the crank, the lower end ofsaid upper linkbeing' connected pivotally to the upper end of thelower'link, and the latter being pivoted at its lower end to the frontend of the pedal.

2. A foot pedal actuated drum stick comprising a base member adapted tobe placed on the floor in front of the drum, a foot pedal extendinglengthwise above said base member, a bracket upstanding from said basemember near the front end of said base member, means pivotallyconnecting the foot pedal at its rear part to the rear part of the basemember, whilst the front end of the foot pedal is close to saidbracketbetween the base member andthe top of said bracket, a crank pivoted tothe top of said bracket, means to'secure a drum stick to said crank, twolinks connecting the front end of the pedal to said crank and consistingof an upper one which is pivoted at its top end-to the upper corner ofthe free end of the crank, a resilient buffer carried by said upper linkto abut against the free end of the crank beneath the pivoted connectionof such link to the crank, the lower link being pivoted at its lower endto the front end of the pedal and at its upper end to the lower end ofthe upper link close to the crank.

3. In a pivoted foot pedal operated drum stick, an upstanding bracket, acrank pivoted to said bracket and projecting forwardly from the bracket,means to connect the drum stick handle to said crank, linkage connectingthe crank to the foot pedal and including an upper and a lower link theupper link being opposed to the front end of said crank and pivoted atits upper end to the crank, the front end of the crank being extendedbelow said latter pivoted connection and spaced rearwardly from theupper link, a resilient butler between and maintaining the spacing: ofsuch link and crank when the drum stick is in the rest position, thesaid lower link being longer than the upper link and connected acrossthe lower end of the shorter:

link and the end of the foot pedal remote from its pivot.

4. In a pivoted foot pedal operated drum stick, an upstanding bracket, acrank pivoted at one end to the topof said bracket, a resilient butterextending across the: other end of said crank, a link pivoted at one endto thecrank above said butter so that the butter lies between said linkand the crank acting as a cushion between the crank and link, anotherlink inclining upwardly forwards from and pivoted to the end of thepedal remote from its pivot and at its upper end pivoted to the lowerend of the first mentioned link close to said buffer.

5. A pivoted foot pedal operated link as claimed in claim 4 in whichsaid crank is of substantially segmental form with its front near itsapex and the said bufier comprising a body of resilient materialextending along its end remote from said pivot, the link opposed to thecrank being pivoted to the upper corner of the latter end of the crankand having a length not much greater than such end of the crank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

